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I have a hard time feeling sorry for anyone that compromises their principles on a daily basis by deciding what is and isn't news. Then, when they have to report on something that truly is a news item, all of a sudden they possess feelings.

While I do not take issue with the general message of this article that reporting on tragedies can cause issues for the reporters, I must call foul on the idea that "victims and families' needs come first" with the media.

I have repeatedly seen first-hand, the media, particularly TMJ4, completely disregard the wishes and needs of victims and their families in an attempt to sensationalize and "scoop their competition". Whether it is sticking a camera in the victim's face or "stalking" them in parking lots or camping outside the family's home - often the media in the name of "doing their job" serves to further traumatize or victimize. When spoken to about this, reporters always say the same thing - "they are not breaking the law", "they are just doing their job" or "this is newsworthy and people have a right to know".

Perhaps as reporters move forward from the horrible tragedy in Newtown (or Brookfield or Oak Creek or Colorado or . . . . ) they will learn that they can do their jobs in a manner that honors and respects victims and their families - a manner that truly puts the needs of victims and families first. A little milk of human kindness goes a long way when dealing with such horrible tragedies.

I find it extremely difficult to find sympathy for those who are reporting on a tragedy, in the manner that most news outlets report on these types of things...it's completely over done, non-stop and in all honesty, that's why I rarely watch any news...local or cable channels. there are many other outlets that are far less dramatic and don't over do the reporting of these things where you can get news....to continue to rehash and rehash and rehash this tragedy is simply disgusting me...and to do it under the guise of reporting the news, when that often means victimizing the victims, I just don't understand why people enjoy watching the stuff....sorry, I feel no sympathy for reporters in most cases, as they aren't forced to ask some of the dumb questions they ask, repeatedly....that alone suggests to me that there really are limits to what is in good taste, when reporting..but the almighty dollar matters more than people, how silly of me to forget this....

Reporters need to stop over reporting these things. Stop showing the faces , names , and life storys of these sick people. This over reporting is planting the seeds of the next sick episode. Enough of glorifying the unthinkable.

Only the shooters carrry the guilt of their dispicable acts, but the reporters who try to find understanding with these sick people, by reporting their names, faces, and life stories, is like investigating the pussing sores of a plague victom, and then refuseing to wash their hands before serving food at an orphanage. Please stop spreading the filth.

The way the media reports on these mass murders, all in the hopes of getting the best ratings, makes the media partially responsible for the uptick in mass murders. Stop glorifying the criminals and let them die the sad nobodies that they are. The names of shooters should never be mentioned, their pictures never shown, the detail of their plans left to die with them so that other maniacs don't have ideas to base the next shooting on. The American media elevates mass murderers to the level of deranged superheroes. Grisly details are not news, and they never have been. It's just about ratings, so please don't try to pass it off as care and concern and respect for the victims and their families.

The brainiacs who insist on blaming the media for these atrocities must ascribe to the notion that "gun don't kill people - reporters do!" How sick are we as a society that we need to turn our attention away from access to assault rifles and insufficient mental health approaches only to focus on the messengers? This isn't an easy fix, folks. It takes courage and conviction to get to the root causes - and then do something about them.

Previous posters aren't suggesting that the media is responsible for what happens, but they DO have SOME ownership in what and how much they're sharing. At the level currently reported, they seem to glorify the criminals. As previous posters have said, they don't deserve any attention at all.

Yes, the media has some culpability here, They sensationalize the story, make a pathetic individual into an anti-hero all in an effort to generate income for the company. For my money, the perps name should never ever be reported until and if they are convicted at trial. I heard that a person was killed by someone using a hammer, should we ban a tool like the hammer? I also heard that a person was killed by someone using a baseball bat, should be ban the baseball bat? I heard someone was killed with a knife, should we ban the knife? The hammer is a tool, the baseball bat is a tool, a knife is a tool, inanimate objects all with no ability to do anything without a human using it. The problem isn't the weapon it is the person who owns it (or steals it) and those who do not keep it safe while in their possession. Their are thousands of 'Assault Weapons' in this country the overwhelming majority are owned by citizens who are responsible. Those of you who think that ending private ownership of a gun will cure anything look at the crime statistics during the years the sale of assault weapons were banned.

Are you kidding me? After seeing Fox News have a phone interview with an 8-year old, the media slid below ambulance-chasing lawyers on the respect meter. Although, in that case, the parents' judgement to allow their child to be interviewed was just as questionable, the fact Fox News requested the interview is despicable. I don't understand why the media has to report all the details in cases like this...nobody watching TV will ever be sworn in to investigate the crime.

It used to be that the news was heard in the evening and later that night. What you got was a usually fact filled report about the event. With today's 24 X 7 reporting (I hesitate to call it news reporting) you get speculation about everything and very little solid news about anything. Depending upon the decision makers personal agenda you get a variety of social ideals about anything which can be connected to the event. For instance, 20 children were slain along with teachers and school officials, but very little hard evidence is being released by investigating authorities as should be the case. Yet, the news media (with its 24 X 7 profit making format) must fill time with something so they sensationalize the situation, with sympathy generating stories often filled with inaccuracies and totally false information. Some news media almost immediately start their social engineering agenda by attacking not the cause but their version of what should be changed to match their social engineering agenda. The news media should recognize that they aren't the Representatives elected to address situations like this. Their only role is to report the facts of these events not to steer society in one direction or another. That is up to society.

Excellent analysis, Hard2Rock! I think you hit the nail on the head. While "journalists" USED to check and re-check things, making sure that they had a solid story BEFORE reporting, the new norm is to report first then investigate later. The cart is definitely before the horse in today's media. How many things did they get absolutely WRONG with this CT story? Releasing the brother's name as the suspect, the mom was the kindergarten teacher, the shooter's girlfriend and friend were missing, I think I heard that the shooter killed both of his parents - just to name a few. Then when it is all said and done, the viewer is subjected to opinion and analysis that is often times reported in, with, and under what "facts" (I use that term loosely) are reported. Today's journalists and their employers are some of the most despicable people. They carry an unbelievable amount of power and are blatantly irresponsible with that power.